As Zvanimir ran through the barren landscape, he soon found himself drained of all the energy that had initially fuelled him.

“Come on, keep going!”

He smacked his legs, hoping that would somehow make his muscles do

what he wanted them to.

“If I can just get to the hills.”

The hills were not too far, but it was uncertain whether his legs

would hold out for that long.

Zvanimir continued to run, but while he did, his breathing became

increasingly heavy as his speed fell. Soon, he was on the ground.

“No! No. Just… A bit more… I can do it…”

No matter how much more he tried to push his body, it was

impossible. His muscles no longer moved. His eyes no longer saw. His mind no

longer conscious.

“I refu… “

-

“I skulk the woods,

All through the trees,

It is known by all around.”

A melodic song filled the hollowed-out tree.

“But do you know me,

Have you seen me,

Must you fear me?”

The voice of a woman bounced off the wooden insides creating a resonance that amplified the sound into something akin to an opera.

“Of course, you must

Look with disgust

As I come and…”

“Hmmm, I’ll have to think of something better.”

The woman stopped her song to ponder for a moment.

“Oh well, first things first. Wake up soldier, I charge by the hour!”

Zvanimir’s eyes shot open as if answering a command. Panicked, he lifted his upper body and sat up.

“What? Where am I?”

He looked around frantically.

“Shhh, easy there soldier.”

The woman gently put her hands on him and pushed him back into a laying position.

With his mind now back to at least some capacity, he calmly lay down and began looking around.

Before Zvanimir’s eyes was a woman with long raven black hair, but a face that implied greater age, at least sixty years, no less. She was clad in black robes that covered her body almost like a shadow, leaving no more than a silhouette when she moved.

Behind her, the room they were in came into shape. It was made of wood, which made a lot of sense as it was quite literally the inside of a hollowed-out tree. But then again, had Zvanimir ever seen a tree this large.

From what he could tell, the tree was wide enough to fit several people and he was on a bed it seemed. What kind of tree was this?

“Who are you?”

The old woman looked at Zvanimir sharply.

“Now now, you shouldn’t ask a lady her name. It is not polite.”

Her words made little sense to him.

“But alas, you may call me Baba. My name should not be said with levity. But what about you soldier?”

A name that shouldn’t be said with levity, what could that possibly mean?

As Zvanimir pondered the question, he noticed Baba giving him an inquisitive look.

“My name is Zvanimir.”

Baba’s facial expression did not change, on the contrary, she looked even more interested than before.

“That’s all I know.”

She moved away from him a bit, giving him space to breathe. Zvanimir used this chance to sit up again.

“Tell me soldier… ahem… Zvanimir, are you dumb by any chance?”

Zvanimir raised an eyebrow at the question. Was he dumb? Surely he wasn’t, but then again, he couldn’t answer the question immediately.

“I…”

Baba quickly cut him off.

“You went and got yourself marked by the Alcari. I would say that qualifies you to be considered dumb.”

So that’s what that thing was called, an Alcari. But what was this about a mark?

“What do you mean marked?”

Her face shifted into one of genuine confusion for a moment before she burst into laughter. She didn’t say anything for a minute and, when her laughter calmed down a little, pointed to his shoulder.

Zvanimir’s clothes had been moved to the side, leaving his shoulder exposed and there it was. It looked like a deep scar at first, but its shape was too perfect to be simple scar tissue.

The mark consisted of two rings, one on the outside and one on the inside. Between them were three lines evenly dividing the space into thirds with two of them being on either side and one on the bottom of the circle.

Zvanimir tried to touch it, but Baba quickly slapped his hand away.

“What are you doing? Have your parents not raised you properly?”

The question struck something in Zvanimir. He had parents, everyone does. But who were they? He tried hard to conjure an image of his mother or his father into his mind but it just wouldn’t happen.

Panic started to grip him as he tried to remember anything else about his own life. Had he any brothers or sisters? What was his village called?

As the line of questions in his mind continued, he felt himself slowly losing his grip on reality. That was when a loud noise and sudden movement grounded him again.

“Oi, soldier, are you still with me?”

Zvanimir could hear the words just barely enough to answer.

“Yes… I think so.”

Baba turned around and went to get something.

“Thank you. I forgot to thank you.”

She turned back around, this time holding a wooden cup with some strange brew in it. She took the cup and handed it to Zvanimir.

“Here, it will calm you down.”

Zvanimir eyed the cup suspiciously.

“It is only herbs, they will do you good soldier.”

Baba was easy to trust for some reason. Her demeanour was strangely straightforward, but that was what made it easy for Zvanimir to accept the liquid.

“Anyway, it is nothing. I do not get many visitors and you looked like you needed help.”

Zvanimir nodded and took a sip of the tea. The taste was nothing surprising, it truly tasted like herbs with a little bit of sweetness added in to make it go down easier.

“This is good. Is this something you make a lot?”

It felt like that was the correct thing to ask of a lonely old woman. But how did he know she was lonely?

“Oh no, I just dabble with the occasional herb here and there. Their medicinal qualities are really what I am more attuned to. But it is good to hear that the taste is pleasant.”

She gave him a slight smile and closed her eyes for a moment.

“So, tell me, what brings you to the Barren Vale? Not many travel here on foot. Even the trains often have trouble crossing through.”

The Barren Vale, it was a fitting name for the location.

“What is a train?”

Zvanimir sipped more of his tea, trying to think of what the word might mean.

“Ah, a village boy then. But surely you did not march all the way to the army?”

Zvanimir answered with only a confused stare towards Baba.

“Hold still for a moment.”

Baba quickly came up to Zvanimir and grasped his head with her long bony fingers. Quickly, she tilted his head in various directions, inspecting it.

“Hmmmm, no, no head injuries.”

Zvanimir moved his head out of her hands and brushed his hair backwards.

“I just don’t think I remember many things.”

“Well, memories can sometimes be lost, but there is little I can help with in that regard unfortunately.”

Zvanimir’s expression saddened a little upon hearing the words, but Baba quickly corrected herself.

“Oh! But I have heard of cases where they would also return as quickly as they disappeared. Do not worry.”

Her false confidence did little but make him appreciate the effort she was putting in to make him feel better.

“If I can ask, why do you keep calling me a soldier?”

Again, Baba gave Zvanimir a puzzled look and pointed to the scarf around his neck.

“Only soldiers usually carry these around. It also means you have someone waiting for you to return safely.”

It was the best news Zvanimir had received since waking up, the only news, but it was still something good.

“So if I can just find them, I could find out who I am.”

Baba nodded.

Zvanimir tried to smile, but he could feel that his face was not moving as he had intended for it to.

“Oh yes, it is just a small side effect from the herbs. Your face will be numb for an hour at most, but it should return to normal afterwards.”

There was little time to ponder the earnestness of her statement, Zvanimir’s mind was occupied with something else. He had to find whoever was waiting for him to return, it was the only goal he could set for himself right now.

“Speaking of returning, where did you come from? There is little around the Vale where one could seek shelter or spend the night safely?”

Zvanimir didn’t think much of it and answered immediately.

“I woke up in some tomb not far from where you must have found me.”

Baba was staring deep into Zvanimir’s eyes. Her attitude towards him had shifted significantly in a matter of seconds. He could feel it clear as day, she didn’t become hostile, but she was no longer as ambivalent as she had been up until that point.

As Baba uttered her next words, Zvanimir could feel his heart sink into his stomach.

“Oh, is that so?”